Night Stalker, the: Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Charles McGraw, Kent Smith, Elisha Cook Jr., Stanley Adams, Larry Linville, Jordan Rhodes, Barry Atwater, Michel Hugo, John Llewellyn Moxey, Desmond Marquette, Dan Curtis, Jeffrey Grant Rice, Max Hodge, Richard Matheson: Amazon.ca: Video

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Wise-cracking Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is a rumpled news hound plucked from the fast-talking newspaper flicks of the 1940s and dropped into the swinging '70s. What makes the eccentric Kolchak even more unique, however, is his nose for the supernatural, a trait that leaves his editor (Simon Oakland) exasperated and the police less than amused. When he insists that a late-night Las Vegas serial killer (who leaves his victims drained of blood and sporting twin holes in the neck) is a modern-day vampire, he's practically run out of town by the local authorities. Naturally, he stalks the vampire himself, an unlikely Van Helsing armed with a silver cross, a wooden stake, and his ever-present tape recorder and flashbulb camera. Carol Lynley is his understanding girlfriend, and Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Kent Smith, and Charles McGraw costar as the Vegas cops and politicians Kolchak systematically alienates with his abrasive charm and smart mouth. Directed by Dan Curtis from a witty script by Richard Matheson, the quirky mix of horror and humor turned The Night Stalker into a ratings sensation that inspired a sequel (The Night Strangler) and a short-lived TV series (Kolchak: The Night Stalker). The X-Files creator Chris Carter acknowledges the show as a major inspiration and has cast McGavin in a recurring role as a retired X-Files veteran with an acerbic personality and a familiar rumpled wardrobe. Kolchak lives! --Sean Axmaker

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Night Stalker (1972), Jan 15 2004

By

Clob Lane (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Stalker, the (VHS Tape)

Scary but often humorous vampire flick set in Las Vegas, 1972 about an investigator who believes the recent killings of many women around Vegas weren't committed by any old serial killer - they were done by a vampire who is hiding out somewhere and olding comes out during the night according to traditional vampire tales and legends. Darren McGavin is excellent as the investigator, and the other cast members are equally memorable. The chase scene near the end is quite suspenseful. It does show its age quite a bit (note the music score and background while McGavin is driving). Nonetheless, it's no surprise that this was chosen to be the subject for the following television series.

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5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best(warning spoilers.....), Jan 26 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Stalker, the (VHS Tape)

Karl Kolchak is a veteren reporter who tends to get himself fired.He gets too close to certain types of stories,stories that prosecutors,law enforcement people,politicians,and others would just as soon see suppressed.A backstory is assumed along that line as Kolchak(played by Darren McGavin)investigates a series of grisly murders.These murders were apparently committed by a madman who bites women in the throat.It is further revealed that the murderer has the strength of a full-grown tiger,is impervious to bullets,and cannot be harmed by blunt force.Kolchak slowly begins to operate under the assumption that the killer is a real vampire.The police,the DA office,and Kolchak's boss Tony Vincenzo cannot live a world populated by undead vampires. Kolchak ends up dispatching Count Dracula's second cousin by himself,and then is railroaded out of Las Vegas by the threat of a trumped-up murder rap.
Overall ,this is an excellent vampire movie,and great as a black comedy as well.Claude Akins plays Sherriff Warren Butcher, a surly cop with little tolerance for reporters.The vampire Janos Skorzeny is played with feral intensity and great relish by Barry Atwater.This movie is a delight for fans of old-fashioned good vampire flicks.It is based on an unpublished story by "Jeff Rice" and I wonder if that was really Anne Rice.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Bram Stoker meets the Front Page, Oct 20 2002

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M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Night Stalker, the (VHS Tape)

This has to be the best made for TV movie ever made. Filmed in 1972 with strict TV censorship, this movie is still filled with suspense and is scary. Very few movies from the late 1960's or early 1970's hold up today. The ""Night Stalker" has hardly aged at all. There is this hook that emerges from the very begining of the movie, that grabs our interest and never lets go! And this hook is reality.

When Kolchak tell us to "Judge for yourself the believability, and then try to tell yourself, whereever you may be, it couldn't happen here", he is giving us the street reporters version of Dr. Van Helsing version from Lugosi's Dracula: "The superstition of yesterday can become the scientific reality of today.....The strength of the Vampire is that people will not believe in him." Yet, with Kolchak, he tells us with facts and figures. Makes you believe. After watching this movie you will check your doors and windows at night.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Thirty years later and it's still scary!
I remember vividly watching this movie on ABC years ago, as well as the sequel and TV series that followed. Read more

Published on July 31 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars A vampire movie for all audiences
I originally purchased this movie largely because X-Files creator Chris Carter cited it and the short-lived Night Stalker TV series as important influences on his own vision. Read more

Published on Jun 29 2002 by Daniel Jolley